The Weekend Report

Watch Your Step

The Dark Knight Rises continued to ascend as the clear movie going favorite with an estimated $62.4 million gross in its second weekend. The current session featured two new national releases that bowed to so-so results. The comedic security romp The Watch opened third in the ratings with an estimated $12.8 million and a pas behind Step-Up Revolution bowed to a box office of $11.7 million.

In the niches new Indian imports were just fair with the Hindi Kya Super Kool Hain Hum providing a $130,000 tally at 54 venues while Telegu Uu Kodathara Ulikki Padathara limped to $59,400 from 41 locations.

The results were more encouraging for incoming limited and exclusive entries. The quirky rom-com Ruby Sparks mined $147,000 from 13 jewel boxes while Killer Joe slayed ‘em with $33,400 at a trio of playdates. Comparably strong was the non-fiction musical Searching for Sugar Man with $27,600 also at three sites.

Overall session revenues pushed to roughly $135 million and a 43% collapse from seven days earlier. It was additionally 25% behind the 2011 pace when freshmen entries Cowboys & Aliens and The Smurfs duked it out for bragging rights with respective premiere box office of $36.4 million and $35.6 million.

Following last weekend’s tragedy in Aurora, Colorado the industry held its breath about possible reverberations. Friday’s launch of the Olympics wasn’t helpful for those wanting to provide a rush to judgment. And Saturday’s rebound, though bountiful, is no more than a quick snap shot of current ebbs and flows in viewership.

As with the shift to a more mature audience, the possible impact of movie attendance as a result of security concerns won’t be anything more than anecdotal for months. The theater chains_unlike post 9/11 airlines_have decided against either ramping up security or providing incentives (monetary or otherwise) to remind patrons of the joy and ritual of going out and escaping into a fantasy world.

Expectations were modest ($15 million to $17 million) for both The Watch and Step-Up Revolution but neither film quite cleared the bar. The Watch, a comedic mashup of Paul Blart and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, skewed 60% male in its audience. It was also 59% aged 25 years old and senior according to exit reports.

The fourth installment of the youth-targeted dance franchise Step-Up appeared to be slightly off tempo although its core audience showed consistency. It’s female centric and that gender constituted 64% of initial viewship with 71% aged 24 years old and more junior.

With the on-going stamina of the likes of Moonshine Kingdom, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and To Rome with Love summer 2012 continues the trend of a buoyant movie going time for mature and alternative audiences. It might even be a box office record but we’ll just have to wait for that pronouncement.